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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wind — moving air
  4. net — after costs
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. net — for catching
  9. squash — to crush
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. rule — government
  12. press — newspapers
  13. key — the most important part
  14. press — a publisher
  15. key — for a lock
  16. net — in sport
  17. key — in music
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rule — a law
  20. squash — the sport
  21. chip — for betting
  22. land — ground
  23. wind — moving air
  24. squash — the vegetable

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com